


Gravity

by jamesniall



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, M/M, Niall-centric, they're astronauts on a big mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2013-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-05 05:37:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1090237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesniall/pseuds/jamesniall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's peaceful, Niall thinks. </p><p>There's not a single sound out there, and he loves how breathtaking the sunrise looks when you're miles and miles away from earth, close to the sun and close to so many stars that feel like are shining just for them, for this moment.</p><p>Later, he learns space is not eerie and calm all the time. It gets scary, because there's no gravity and that takes away the control you have over your body, you float, you feel weightless, you can't stop when you're drifting away because there's nothing to hold on to, everything is endless and full of darkness when all you want to see is a bit of light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. when it starts

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, hi, this idea came to my mind after i watched the movie "gravity" the one with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, yes, and after it did, it never left my mind and it wouldn't leave until i actually started writing instead of imagining it in my head, so this is just the start, i already have like, all the things i want to happen somewhat written and it will have 3 parts, no more and no less.
> 
> It's purely and basically based on the movie, so all credits go there. this is just the start, that's why is so short but im 600% sure each part will be so much longer once the action actually starts so, i hope you stick with me and we all enjoy the ride.

It's his first day.

After all the training, the exams, the ups and the downs he's here.  _Finally._

He's been accepted by the most important and influential people from NASA and if that's not something that explains how thrilled he's feeling right now he doesn't think he'll ever find the words to explain it.

Niall has been working hard, he got the best grades ever since he was in high school and his teachers always praised him, told him to never give up because Niall had it in him, he's smart, he learns fast and easy. Doesn't need to study for hours or take a full spanish course to be somewhat fluent at spanish. Niall is bright, not only personality-wise, but in the whole sense of the word. He's intelligent, simple as that.

His family always supported him, in every idea he ever had, his brother helped him convince his parents to let him get into the choir instead of the school's football team. His mum went with him to the local store to help him choose the correct shade of blonde for his hair and dyed it for the first time and the second and a few others after that, till he felt he was okay doing it himself. His dad bought him all the magazines, all the newspapers that had things of his interest, whether it was Justin Bieber or the new shuttle that NASA shipped to the moon. He got his favourite telescope for his birthday and they gave him tickets for a convention of future astronauts that was being held in Dublin. 

All of that gave him the push he needed to pursue every crazy dream he's ever had since he was just a little boy star gazing from his bedroom window back in Mullingar.

He went all the way to America to major in mechanical engineering  and astrophysics. Studying and working his ass off until he was old enough to take the exam that NASA requires and wait. Till a letter with his name came saying the good or bad news. He was prepared for both. But if he was being honest, he wouldn't know what to feel if the bad news were to happen.

It turns out they examine every single bit of your life before they take the decision of accepting you or not. And Niall, having a clear and mind-blowing school report since he was in school and keeping it like that until he finished college, was accepted without a second thought.

He celebrated that night with his family and closest friends, both from college and back home. Feeling like every single star shining in the sky was for every dream that came true.

-

He trained. Hard. Because you have to be in shape to be up in the space and Niall has always been skinny, with a wonky knee that gave him problems at the start but he got over that because he would never let his stupid knee get in the middle of everything. He was ready, for everything, couldn't wait to gain the necessary knowledge and skill to fulfill every expectation.

After months of sleepless nights trying to finish his readings and all the sweat and the aching bones and muscles, he graduated. Made friends, lots of friends, despite of what his dad told him, that people there could be selfish and mean, to be careful with his choices. People warmed up to Niall and he made four  _best_ friends; Louis, who's two years older than him and has been spending the last three taking the exams to get in and finally made it, has a wife back home, in Doncaster and he makes Niall laugh at the dumbest things. Zayn, who's protective and warm, always up for a cuddle and a little help with math ecuations, he's engaged and he shows a wide smile and crinkled eyes when he talks about her. Liam, who is gentle and a good listener and he works hard, harder that all of them because this is his second time taking the course. The first time he got hurt in the last class of the training and had to spend a week at the hospital instead of the moon, he's persistant and stays focused all the time, Niall admires him a lot. And Harry, sweet and funny and a great hugger. The one who got his heart since the day they trained together, as a team, and have been taking it slow since then. Niall wouldn't know how to  _be_ without them.

Four guys that always got his back and cheered him up when he felt too lonely and homesick and he was craving a call to his mum.

 

They are all here today, finally, at the NASA headquarters in Washington D.C. Walking inside with their heads up high and slightly shaking hands and fast beating hearts because  _this is it,_ this is were it all starts, this is where all they've dreamed of can either come true or crash in front of their eyes.

They have a mission, because they, along with a boy named Josh, were the best during every class and every training. They gave their best so they get the biggest, most important mission, fix one of the most valuable spacial telescopes.

They get told that they're leaving in a week. All together will leave and they will have to work together and figure out how to repair the telescope while keeping themselves safe. The mission is not supposed to last more than a week, they're bound to return to earth on July 26th.

All the information and knowledge they need, they already have it. Everyone has their eyes on them. The mission is big, is essential and if they fuck up they're out. This is what they all have been waiting for, and they're ready to take the world by storm and show everyone they  _can_ do this. They will, and they'll be home safe and sound, everything will work out.

It starts.


	2. when it goes wrong

Adrenaline, that's all Niall feels pumping through his veins when Josh tells them, "We're here, put on your helmets, it's time to go out."

It's a mix of feelings, really, there's excitement and there's hopefulness, he's optimistic and energetic but at the same time he feels serene and calm. If he's honest, he's a tiny bit scared too, because it's terrifying how far away from home he is. How he's watching earth, his own planet, right in front of his eyes. He sees oceans and the crooked lines that separate each country and continent. 

He's watching the place where he's been his whole life, he has a sight that just a small number of people are lucky to have. It's overwhelming.

"You ready?" asks Harry somewhere beside him and he nods, not feeling able to find words because everything he sees it's so fascinating it leaves him speechless. "I know, it's quite a view, isn't it?"

When Niall turns to look at him he has an amused smile on his face. "It is, indeed."

"You don't really grasp the fact that this is not an HQ picture you're looking on your laptop," Louis chirps from where he's standing, or more like  _floating_ in front of him. "I won't believe it till I'm out there so, are you guys gonna drool all over your suits or are you getting out with the rest of us?"

That's when Niall notices they already opened the gate that separates him from the outside, he just needs to move a little and he's out. 

This time, is Harry who gives him the push he needs, he's smiling playfully at him, "Let's go, we can moonwalk for a while before we start to work."

Niall smiles, before checking everything is alright with his suit, his oxygen tank is full and the helmet is properly put.  The spacesuit is heavy and it keeps him warm, but he still feels Harry's comforting hand when he entwines their fingers together.

"Let's go, then," Niall says, and out they go.

 

+

 

Josh explains how everything is supposed to go, it feels like the billionth time Niall has heard the very same instructions, but he doesn't complain because he remembers his dad's words when Niall said goodbye, _"Pay attention to everything they say, I may not know as much as you do about how things are up there, but if something goes wrong you tend to freeze and forget everything you know, so don't take for granted every information they give you."_

After they all check the small radios they have inside their suits and they know for sure they work and they can keep contact with each other, Josh says they should work in groups, they have to check the area to see if everything is how it should be and then find the telescope and find what exactly is causing the problem. They'd go back after that and discuss all together, as a team, what would be the best solution, the one that take them less time.

It's July 18th and they have seven days to work this out, but they all plan on finishing before that, have a bit of no-gravity-fun and go back home. Where everyone will look at them with pride and respect and they will be a team until they are too old for the outer space.

 

Niall ends up working with Harry and Zayn while Josh, Liam and Louis go in the opposite direction.

He feels content and he can't help the smile that breaks into his face when he sees how the lights of the stars reflect on Harry's eyes.

"Where should we start?" Zayn breaks the silence, "I mean, they went left and we go right but, what exactly are we doing?"

"Well, first we have to check everything is in place," Harry chuckles, "which is funny because why wouldn't it be? And then we have to find the telescope, fix it and go home."

"We know that, Haz." Zayn smiles shaking his head, "but we have the coordinates to find the telescope, why don't we just, I don't know, go for it and find it."

"That's a good idea." Niall says, "that way it won't take us that long, we can move our shuttle somewhere close to the telescope and start working right away, why not?"

"I think the others just wanted a bit of sight-seeing before work, they're lazy asses." Harry laughs.

"We can let them move around and explore while we find the telescope and then call them to come over and help, we're a team after all, if we finish this soon, how we expect, we can enjoy the view when we don't have a great telescope to find and fix." Zayn insisted, "you guys agree?"

"Yeah buddie, I do," Niall beams, "I actually can't wait to put my hands on that telescope."

"You have gloves, they won't be your hands, actually," Harry jokes and Niall tries to punch him in his arm but he's faster and Niall ends up trying to reach out his hands towards something that stops him from rolling around.

It's Zayn who catches him and steadies him, "Jesus, Niall, don't fucking do that, the more controlled your moves are, the better, trust me."

Niall is a bit shaken up after that because really. He's used to falling and landing on hard ground, but if you fall here, where do you go? There's nothing that catches you, nothing can stop you from drifting. It is scary.

"Sorry, Ni, I didn't mean to-"

"No, Harry is not your fault, I tried to hit you, you just made a joke and I can't stay still," he smiles softly at him, there's no point in apologizing, nothing happened, Niall is still there, close to them and they won't let him go.

"We can try with the strings we have, you know, that way we  _are_ connected to each other and if one starts to move away, we just have to pull them, yeah?"

"But we can also pull the other away, like, one moves, the other two will move, it's like a domino, if we are attached to each other, we move away together, that's not the point." Niall says.

"You say it as if drifting together would be a bad thing." Harry frowns.

"Okay, okay, stop it, none of that will happen, we won't drift away if we don't lose control, let's just start moving, we've lost enough time just talking." Zayn states.

"Yeah, sorry I just, thought."

"Don't be sorry, we'll use the strings if we need to, for now, let's try and stay close to each other, there's a telescope waiting for us."

 

-

 

"Tomlinson here, do you copy?" Louis' voice comes through the speakers of their radios.

"Loud and clear, Tommo, what's up, you found something?"

"We just saw the telescope, I think, but it's not good news."

"What do you mean?"

"It's broken, like, absolutely crashed."

"What?"

"I'm telling you, Liam and I just found it, Josh went back to the shuttle to call to the station back on earth because this is not normal."

"What do you think happened?"

"The only reason we came up with is that some meteorite of some kind passed right through it, why else should it be like this, it's fucked up."

"We're coming. Did you find it where the coordinates said?"

"Nope, it's a good two meters away from that, but if you come in those directions you'll see us, we won't move from here till you guys arrive, be quick."

"Right, see you there."

 

-

 

It turns out, Louis what brutally right.

The telescope is properly  _broken_.

"What do we do now? We don't have the enough tools and equipment to fix this, do we?" Liam asks worried.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

"We do," Josh says, "but it will be a whole lot harder than we thought. The pieces we need to fix it are small, they will float away if we're not careful, if we lose one, we have to go back."

"Fuck."

"Josh, what did the station said when you called?"

"They don't have a clue, all they know is that around two weeks ago they stopped receiving signals from this telescope, but they had no view of it, they don't know what happened."

"This is bullshit," Louis sneers, "Like, what the hell is this? NASA can't just be like  _oh we lost one telescope, don't know why, just go fix it_ for fuck's sake."

"Lou calm down-"

"No, I won't, we clearly won't be home in the accorded date, and obviously not before. This will take us more than a week!"

"That's what's bothering you? That you won't be home in a week?" Josh inquires.

"I- I have to be home before August starts."

"Can I know why that is?"

When Louis frowns and looks away, Liam answers, "His wife has her first ultrasound."

No one dares to say anything after that.

"You- You'll be a dad, Lou?" Niall asks softly, slowly getting closer to Louis.

"Yeah, we, we got the news just three weeks ago, when it was too late to say I couldn't be in the mission, plus she said I had to do this, it wouldn't take longer than a week, but now look at us!"

"I don't know how, but we  _will_ fix this thing in a week, we're a team of genius astronauts, a small telescope can't fuck us up," Niall says and they all turn to look at him, "I'm not saying it will be easy because we can't fool anybody, this is telescope is ruined, but there's six brains and six pairs of arms and eyes, we can do this, we will."

They don't know why, but somehow Niall's words fill them to the brim with hope.

 

+

 

It's their second day and the tension starts to kick in.

They managed to see which parts where the more damaged so they could go and find them and plan out how would they do it. They're still in teams, the same as yesterday but they don't see much progress.

Everyone agreed when Niall told them it would be so much easier if they moved the shuttle somewhere closer to the telescope, so now they don't spend an eternity going and leaving with small pieces to fix it.

Niall has a clock, one his grandma gave him before he left and it says it's just nine past thirty in the U.K, he's hungry and if he was home he would be eating a big, delicious breakfast, but they can't let themselves do that here. It's already hard enough to digest food where there's no gravity, Niall already puked three times because he couldn't stomach a small meal.

His hands are shaking as he cuts a wire and grabs the small metal piece that floats when he cuts some more. He knows what he's doing, of course he does, out of the six of them, Niall is the one that knows more about this type of telescope, he knows what to detach and what to cut, and what to never ever touch. That's why he's so tense, he feels the weight of the world on his shoulders because the wrong movement could be unfixable and that's not something they neither need nor want.

"How is it going, Nialler?" Liam asks as he gets closer to where Niall is currently working, "any luck?"

"A bit, yeah," he says, "I just can't find the blue wire that detaches the main part of the telescope so we can take a look inside and fix the motor."

"It's supposed to be hidden, right? It's like the main wire, won't be as easy to find as the rest of them."

"I know, I know. Every damn telescope has it in a different place but I swear I've checked every part and I can't find it," Niall grunts, "Fuck, what if it fell or it burnt out when whatever thing crashed on it?"

"It's a possibility, but a rare one, as far as I know it has to be safe and inside some kind of...  _thing_ that prevents it from falling or burning out."

Niall curses for the thousand time in less than an hour, he's frustrated. That's the only wire he needs to find so they can actually  _start_ fixing the telescope. If he doesn't find it who knows how mad Louis will be. He's been restless, and Niall feels the need to calm him down, remind him that they will be okay but how can he say that when he can't do his part in all of this. 

"Niall, you're shaking, did you eat anything at all?"

"I- I did, of course I did, but I just, puked it all out like twenty minutes after."

"How can you be working like this, you need to eat, you know how low your blood pressure can get out here and it's worse if your stomach is empty, come on, close the telescope, I'm taking you inside the shuttle and you'll eat and stay as still as you can so you don't throw up."

"No, no, I'm fine, I just need to find the wire, as soon as I find it we can start and you guys can check what to do first while I eat but I won't move until I find it."

"You're so damn stubborn, Christ, you'll get sick if you don't eat, the last thing we need is someone getting sick, especially you, you are the one that knows the most about this telescope, I won't risk it, let's go inside."

"Just wait, Liam I'll-"

Niall's voice is cut short when Zayn's voice comes through the speakers, "we got a call from the station, a Russian missile strike on one of the inactive satellites some miles away from here but it's causing a chain reaction, there's a cloud of space debris moving fast, it's just a warning, but we have to pay attention."

"Should we be worried about it?" Liam asks, trying to hide how nervous he actually is.

"Not yet, the cloud it's nowhere close to us but they will keep us informed if it gets too close, we'd have to abort the mission if the worst happens, keep an eye out there, first safety, you hear me Niall?"

"I copy, Zayn."

"Good, I'll be talking to you guys if we get more information, take care."

 

"Niall!" Harry's voice booms, getting closer to him, "I haven't seen you since breakfast, did you manage to keep it down for longer than ten minutes?" Harry is smiling, but both Liam and Niall see the concern he's trying to mask.

Niall is exasperated at this point.

"No, I couldn't." He says flatly. He knows he's acting cold towards Harry, who is just nicely trying to check if Niall is okay, but he doesn't have the time for that, not when the mission could be cancelled if the debris reached them, not when he has to find the damn wire, he just has to focus, he knows he can find it.

"Ni?"

"What?"

"You sure you're okay? I can see your fingers trembling and that's saying something." And yeah okay, Harry has a point, because the gloves are thick and you can barely see the fingers moving because it's like they get lost in the suit. If Harry can  _see_ them shaking, then they're shaking badly.

"I  _am_ completely fine. It's cold, yeah, I'm cold but I'm just trying to find the wire we need to finally take a look inside the telescope and start figuring out how to fix it and go home!"

"You have to breathe, Nialler." Liam concerned voice says. Niall almost forgot Liam was still there with him.

"Can you guys let me finish this, once I find it I-"

"Lads, what are you doing?" Louis approaches them, he looks relieved, like he finally managed to settle himself down and stop worrying about how time it will take them to be home.

"Niall here is trying to find the wire to open the motor of the telescope, but no avail."

"It's nowhere to be found." Niall mutters.

"You mean you already cut the rest of the wires? Woah, Nialler, I knew you got a way with telescopes but you're like a god with them!" Louis laughs.

"I can't find it, Lou, if I don't then how the hell will we start repairing this-" he stops before he can insult the telescope. He knows the station can hear their conversations if they want, the radios connect them to everyone, at the end, the last he needs is using nasty words towards a telescope that apparently means a lot to NASA.

"Niall don't push yourself, you already made progress by finding the other wires, I name you the king of this mission, but don't over stress, you can take a rest and then try again later"

"But then when will we finish? When will we go home?"

That makes their stomachs churn uneasily. Not only the fact that they don't know the answers for those questions, but because the four of them are quite protective of Niall, and they all failed to realize that their own anxiousness had a big impact on him.

"Don't you worry about that, it won't be your fault if you don't find the wire, we're a team, remember? We can help, you _have_ to ask for help, it's okay, you need it."

They all take a look at the telescope and Niall is right, there are wires all around and most of them are fixed but the blue one, the one they need to find is not there. Or it is, but it's either tangled in all of the broken pieces or is stuck inside the telescope.

"Okay, do you need us to do something?" Harry asks. Wants nothing more than to wipe off the frown on Niall's face.

"You have your lantern, right?"

Harry nods, "yeah, where do you need me to light it?"

Niall points straight to where he _thinks_ the blue wire may be and Harry reaches out his arm towards it. Careful to not move Niall because he has like seven other wires on his hands and if he moves them who knows what would happen. 

"Fuck, fuck, shit," Niall gulps, "Here it is, it's stuck in the small gate that opens the telescope, if I pull it out it will break and we're fucked."

"You can try to open the gate, right? With something that won't break it but let it open wide enough to grab the wire," Zayn's voice suddenly sounding close, surprising them all.

"Zayn? I thought you had things to do inside the shuttle," Louis says, sounding confused but relieved to see Zayn there, the boy always had great ideas and along with Niall, they could fix any problem they had.

They are a great team indeed.

"I did yeah, I finished just a while ago and I saw you guys struggling with something, what is it?"

"It took me like two hours to disentangle all the wires we need but I couldn't find the blue one..."

"The one that you use to open the telescope," Zayn means to ask, but it comes out more like a statement.

"Yeah, that one, I just found it but it's stuck in the very same gate we need to open and I'm out of ideas," Niall sounds tired, no matter how hard he tries to mask it, the lack of food in his system is making him fidgety and anxious. 

"Don't over think it, when you do that you tend to ignore the answers that are right in front of you."

Ten minutes pass, Niall knows that because he's been checking his clock every minute. He doesn't care about the fact that this is taking time, he knows, they all know this is bound to take hours, days even. Figure out how to fix such a valuable telescope without breaking it even more it's not a simple task, but Niall is  _hungry_ the kind of hungry that gives you headaches and makes you dizzy. 

They're all holding different wires, trying with shaky hands to put them out of the way so when they accidentally move the telescope they won't pull them out and break them. But the sudden panicky tone of a voice startles them all.

It's Josh, he sounds  _scared._

"We have to abort the mission, I repeat, abort the mission, get inside the shuttle right now, the debris from the missile is getting closer by the second they're bound to impact on us in less than two minutes, abort the mission, do you copy?"

"We do, we're coming."

"No, no no, if we let go of the wires it will go to waste!" Niall screams.

"Niall, come on, you heard Josh, they will crash on us in less than two minutes, we could  _die_ if we don't get inside, come on, forget about this!" Louis shouted.

"Go on, I'll be there in a minute, I just need to-"

"Niall!" This time is Harry, he has that look in his eyes, the one that makes Niall's body go cold, he looks absolutely terrified. "We have to go, please, let's just go!"

They can see it now.

The cloud of debris is coming fast at them. They have less than forty seconds to get inside.

They won't make it.

"Niall, safety first, it's always safety first." Zayn says.

"Hold my hand we have stay together, we can get to the shuttle together!" Liam yells.

Niall feels numb.

The debris hits a satellite that's  _really_ close to where they are, Harry screams, "Niall fucking  _move!_ "

 

 

It's too late.

Niall grabs Harry's hand and Zayn is holding his arm so they all be together, as a unit. They think they move faster that way but not fast enough. They get hit.

 

The impact it's hard.

Niall feels like he loses his hearing for a moment. He doesn't hear anything, doesn't see anything. He never closes his eyes but everything is darkness and everything is too quiet. it shouldn't be so quiet after a crash like that. It's not possible.

He doesn't know what's happening until his back hits something. It's the telescope, which is now on fire and that's when Niall comes back to his senses. He trashes and moves and kicks his legs and arms but all he achieves is getting further away from the rest.

He thinks he sees Liam and Louis, hugging each other with their arms and legs tangled in the string they all have in their suits, they tangled it in the shuttle's ladder. But he doesn't see Harry and Zayn _anywhere_  

It's just darkness and fire and more rests of a satellite hitting their shuttle. He wonders if maybe Harry and Zayn managed to make it inside. He can't help but wonder how could they do it if they were both holding him, he was in the middle of them, how did they do it?

He feels empty and it has nothing to do with the fact that he didn't eat anything. It's more like an  _I failed_ kind of empty.

The warmth of Harry's hand is suddenly missing and Zayn's warm eyes are not there anymore. Liam and Louis seem to be getting smaller the more he drifts away.

His back hits something again, but this time it  _hurts_. He feels pain spreading all the way through his back, sees dancing black spots. He must have hit something big because it send him flying in the opposite direction he was, and he's spinning away from whatever he crashed with. He can't stop, he gets farther and farther away and he doesn't see the shuttle, or Liam or Louis  _anywhere._

 _  
_This is what he feared the most. This was always what he was scared of but he never said it out loud. He loves the peacefulness of space but he hates how big it is, how it seems to swallow you whole, drags you to wherever it wants, and it's endless.

Niall is not breathing properly.

He's dizzy. He hasn't stopped spinning, he _can't_ stop spinning, he can't take deep breaths, he can't take a hold of anything, because there's nothing. Space is nothingness. You can't let go, you can't lose control because that's when space becomes your biggest enemy.

"Styles here, does anyone copy?" Harry's voice startles him and he gasps, trying to form words, trying to say something, wants to scream  _yes I copy, I don't know where I am, someone help me!_ but he doesn't find it in himself to calm down. He's hyperventilating.

But he doesn't lose hope. 

"Styles here, does anyone copy?" Harry says again, Niall keeps trying, "Please answer, say anything, do you copy?!" He sounds desperate and that's how Niall imagines him. That's what makes him swim out of the waves that the panic attack forms around him.

"H- Harry- I'm-"

"Who's that? Niall, tell me it's you, where are you, are you okay? Niall, answer, say anything!"

"Don't...  can't breathe." Niall wheezes out.

"Niall, fuck, fuck, you have to breathe, okay? listen to me, just focus on me, you're alright, we're coming over to get you, but you need to stay calm," Harry pauses to hear if Niall's breathing is slowing down, but it's not, Niall's not breathing, the oxygen doesn't reach his lungs, "Niall, _babe_ , please. I need you to tell us where you are, tell us what you see, you're out of the radar we don't have coordinates coming from you, tell us what can you see, please."

"I'm drifting, I can't- I don't-"

"You are okay, you will be."

"I see- I think it's the Chinese space station," He breathes, he tries to calm down, he needs to stop spinning, he knows he's tumbling through space and that's not making it easier but he needs to focus, needs to stay calm, like Harry is still telling him to.

"Okay, okay, you're not that far away from us, we're coming. Remember the string?"

"Y-yes." 

"Try to tie yourself to anything. Even if it's a piece of debris, a part of a satellite, something that will help you. You can do it."

"There's nothing, Harry," He tries to stop the tears that are bluring his sight, "I don't see anything, it's so dark, please, _please,_ help me."

"We're already in our way, let's talk yeah? Don't think about any bad shit, you're fine."

"Okay."

"Good, yeah, stay with me. I'm here with Zayn. Liam and Louis managed to get inside the shuttle, can you believe that? Those dorks beat us!" Harry lets out a shaky laugh, "They detached the shuttle and we, me and Zayn got into the back of it, I don't know how the hell we did it, can you believe that?"

"Yeah." Harry's talk it's working, he's still shaking but the spinning has slowed down, he feels like he can breathe again. His back still hurts and he has a massive headache, but Harry is okay, and so are the rest, Niall can do this, he will be with them, "How- how did I slip? Why did I drift away?" 

"You- when you were working on the telescope you attached your feet to the bottom of it, remember? So you wouldn't start floating around, you got stuck in that string and we had to let go of you because the debris was too big and it was passing like, right in the middle of us, when we tried to catch you again you were too far away, it happened too fast, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, Haz, was my fault anyway."

"No, it wasn't," Niall feels himself smiling, because he can  _feel_ Harry frowning wherever he is. "It took me too long to understand we were in danger, I put you guys in danger when I didn't stop working when you told me to, _I'm_ sorry."

"You did it because you were working hard on those wires. I would have done the same."

"No, Haz," Niall sighs, "you wouldn't." Niall keeps taking deep breaths and Harry keeps coaxing him through it, calming him as best as he can.

"Niall, wait, we can see you. You're back in the radar, hold on."

"Hold onto  _what_?" And that's when the fear comes back. When the  _what ifs_ start clouding his mind.

"Just, breathe Niall, we're almost there."

"I don't see you."

"We see you, close your eyes and talk to me."

"How long will it take you, I'm just- I'm  _so_ scared." He whispers.

"Not more than five minutes, Ni."

There's a long pause and Niall thinks that maybe they lost the connection. Maybe the impact on his back messed up something and now he's going to die. Maybe the oxygen tank is broken, maybe his helmet has a fissure and Niall will just  _die_ out here. What would they tell to his family? How long would it take before the oxygen runs out? What will he do?

Harry's voice surprises him when it booms in his ears, "Hey Niall, how do you think it would be to have sex up here?"

Niall laughs, he laughs so hard he starts coughing and tears fall out from his eyes. He opens them to see a small part of the shuttle coming slowly towards him. He sees the gate open and he sees Harry come out of it, he has the string attached to one of the wires outside the shuttle and Niall doesn't stop smiling until Harry is right in front of him.

"Are you real or am I hallucinating?"

Harry dimpled smile tells him is the first option.

"Oh God, Niall," Harry whimpers and they hug, awkwardly, because the spacesuits are too big and uncomfortable and the helmets don't let them nuzzle their faces in each other's necks, but it's something, and Niall is so,  _so_ happy he's not alone anymore.

"Come on, Zayn says he has snacks inside and your tummy is still empty. You're pale."

"I'm so cold," Niall's voice cracks and Harry frowns.

"Let's go, I'm not letting you go, not ever, ever again."

 

+

 

Once inside, Zayn hugs him too. They can remove the helmets inside the shuttle so it feels more like a hug. Harry also kisses him, hard, on his lips. And if Niall was breathless before, he's even more now

He feels like he's going to pass out.

"Haz, there's an oxygen mask under the seat, you should put it on him while I search for something easy to eat for him," Zayn says to Harry. The shuttle is small, and Niall hasn't felt claustrophobic in years but after all the traumatic events, it's kicking in.

"How are you feeling?" Harry asks and Niall removes the mask for a moment so he can answer.

"My back hurts, like, a lot. I crashed on something like bloody big and heavy, but nothing else. A headache but I think it's more because of lack of food than anything."

"You can remove the suit here, I have to check out it didn't tear apart and make sure you're not too injured, we can't stay inside this shuttle for long," Harry explains as he helps Niall into a sitting position and removes carefully the heavy suit.

"Why?"

"We are running out of gas. You know this is just a part of the main shuttle, so it doesn't have the full tank because, you know, it's supposed to be attached to the shuttle all the time, but it was an emergency and it was the only part that detached without catching fire, it was our last chance, the most important thing was that it could bring us to you and it did, now we need to find Liam and Lou, then go back home."

"So we have to get out there?" Niall asks shakily.

Harry makes a face before he answers, "I'm afraid we have to. But don't worry, okay? We will keep you safe, we won't let what happened before, happen again, you'll be just fine."

"Nialler your back is turning  _purple._ " Zayn yells when Niall takes off his suit with slow and careful movements, Harry's hands softly lift the black t-shirt he's wearing underneath. It's not a nice sight, the left side of Niall's back is bruised and starting to swell.

They all accommodate as best as they can in the enclosed capsule. "We have to put ice on it, but Niall is too cold for that." Harry mutters.

"Do you have ice inside here?" Niall asks.

"Remember I told you this is the back of the shuttle? Here's where we save all the food, there's ice in that small fridge by your feet, you think you can handle it?"

"No, no, God, no! It's too cold, I don't think-"

"It's okay Niall, we won't put ice on it just yet but be careful okay? We will try to drive this thing for as long as it lets us before the gas is spent, after that we have to go back out there, we don't want you to get hurt again."

"We won't let you get hurt again" Harry states before kissing Niall's forehead.

 

+

 

"Tommo and Liam here, do you copy?"

"We do, Lou, where are you guys?"

"Well, we- We tried to follow the coordinates that the radar gave us of your capsule but we're deorbiting, we're really far away from each other, something broke and it's like we don't have control over the shuttle, we had to empty the gas tank so it would stop taking us farther."

"You what?! You have no gas? Like not a single drop of it!?" Zayn shrieks, "we're running out of gas, how the hell are we supposed to find each other if none of us has any fucking gas?"

"Zayn calm the hell down," Louis says and Niall wonders why he sounds so calm, "You have a bunch of fire extinguishers there, right?"

"Yeah."

"Grab them, get out and use them to move around, move east, okay? we're at the east side, you can check the coordinates."

"Yeah, I see you guys here but, what then? What do we do when the extinguisher is all used up?"

"You move, use the strings so you all are moving together," There's a pause and then Liam asks, "Niall is there with you guys, yeah?" He says it so quietly they barely hear it. 

"I'm here Li, haven't got rid of me," he jokes, but it sounds sad and weak.

"God Niall, I'm so relieved to hear you again, are you okay?"

"I kinda hurt my back out there but yeah, yeah I'll be okay."

"Are you up for the plan, Nialler?" Louis asks.

"Do I have any other option?"

"You don't." Louis sighs out, Niall can almost see him cringing.

"Then I think the answer is obvious. We will do it."

They all wonder how Niall manages to fill his voice with so much hopefulness it's contagious.

"We will."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know i know i barely mentioned josh in this part but you'll see what happened to him on the next part i promise
> 
> I hope that, if you've liked it so far, you comment so i can know what are you guys expecting, how do you think things will turn out, a comment is always received with open arms, thank you!


	3. when they go home

Niall has never been so scared in his whole life.

He was scared on his first day of school, he was scared when his parents told him they would get a divorce. He was absolutely scared when he got a call saying his grandma was at the hospital and he was in the other side of the world studying for an important test. He was scared of the outcome of everything he's ever done to achieve his dreams. But all of that worked out, he made a ton of friends at school and his parents have always been friends, even after his mum moved out from their house. His grandma is healthy as ever and he was accepted by the NASA to come up here. Scientifics and professionals thought he was ready to get inside that shuttle and fly away from earth. He has everything they want in an astronaut.

So why does he feel he's not ready at all? 

Harry says he's bound to be frightened of all the things that could happen out there, after everything that happened, it's just normal to be scared.

But Niall's fear is bigger than that. It's wider, it's stronger, it's dragging him down and sucking out all of his energy and faith. He feels ready to give up.

"You told us we could pass all the exams back at the academy and you told us we could make it after the missile crash, you've been our only source of hope, Nialler, and if you're running out of it then it's our turn to give ours to you." Zayn said after Niall had a proper melt down and sobbed and panicked about never going back home.

Harry's kisses also made a good job at soothing him.

But now nothing is helping. 

He found a wrinkled photo of his loved ones in one of the inside pockets of his suit. But not even seeing his mum's smile or his nephew's bright blue eyes are lulling his fears like he hoped they would. It just scares him ever more; that the last look he has at his family is just through a crumpled picture.

 

"Ni, Louis just told us they're about to go out, we have to go towards the Chinese station and see if we can do something from there." Harry says.

Maybe, just maybe they'll be able to communicate to the spacial station back on earth and they'll send help and then they'll go home.

They are all aware it won't be so easy.

"Okay, I think I'm ready."

"You are?"

Niall laughs, "No, of course I'm not."

"We will make it, I'm sure."

"Thank you, Haz."

"Just don't let go."

"I won't."

 

+

 

"We use the extinguishers to get close to the station, but we stop using them when they are 30% full, okay? We have to save the rest in case something goes wrong," Zayn explains, "We  _have_ to attach the suit strings to each other, I'll be first, Niall in the middle, Harry in the back, got it?"

Niall and Harry nod, "Are we sure the station hasn't been hit?"

"Louis says it's in good state, the only way to be sure it's see it ourselves, we can only hope."

"What if it's not? What do we do then, Zayn?" Niall stammers, "What if we can't go back?"

"No, no, no, Niall, don't say that, don't think that. We will. And I will get married and Louis will see his baby for the first time and Liam will fall in love and you and Harry will buy a house together, we will be home, soon, I promise you, okay?" Zayn is saying as he grabs his shoulders, trying to make them  _stop shaking,_ but Niall is shaking his head and they think he's about to have another panic attack.

He fights it and he squeezes Zayn's hands back, "Okay, okay okay, yeah, we- we will, okay," he pants breathlessly, "we can do it."

Zayn smiles and Niall vaguely realizes the gate is already open as Zayn adjusts his helmet and tightens his string on Niall's. "Open your eyes, Nialler, you have to see this."

 

The sun is shining, bright and powerful on the left side of the globe and it's _wonderful_.

 Niall has been up early lots of mornings but he would never compare watching the sunrise from his room's window to watching it here.

You see  _everything_ , how the light slowly spreads through mountains and oceans and it feels never ending. He's in the right place to see how half planet is asleep, full of stars with the moon lighting up the darker places. The left side looks gold, a beautiful shade of yellow, all covered in a warm blanket that the sun provides.

He feels so blessed.

He feels  _alive._

"Where's home, Niall?" Harry softly asks.

"Mullingar." Niall breathes out, "it's midnight there, my dad probably has my telescope out in the backyard and it's watching me up here." Niall whispers.

"Why don't you say hi?" Zayn asks, holding his hand and squeezing tightly, "Maybe he can see you."

Niall stops thinking about how impossible that is. They're 372 miles away from earth, no one can see them from down there. But his heart feels like it's bursting with joy, it's telling him  _yeah, your dad is star gazing from your window just like you used to when you were nine years old, refusing to go to sleep until you saw a wishing star, he's down there hoping to see you, wishing you're okay_. So he nods and his smile so, so big as he lifts his hand and starts waving towards the small dot he thinks it's Ireland. "I'm going home, dad," he sighs happily, "don't wait up, I'm coming."

 

+

 

"Payne here, do you copy?"

"We're the only ones listening, Liam do we really have to use our last names to communicate?"

"Shut up, Louis," he laughs, "you lads copy?"

"We copy, where are you guys?"

"We're incredibly faster than you guys. We are inside the Chinese space station, tell me how proud and impressed you all are," They all feel the smile on Louis' face, he sounds elated.

"How the fuck did you get there in less than fifteen minutes?" Zayn yells, but he's smiling too.

"Well, we are a fantastic duo, that's all," Louis laughs, "We were closer to it than we initially thought." 

"And it's everything all right inside there?" Niall asks.

"Yeah, that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" Harry asks, it's directed to Louis but is Niall who answers him beside him.

"The station hasn't been hit." Niall  _knows._

That's bad.

"Sadly, you're right my dear Niall. Everything is perfectly fine in here. We contacted the people back on earth and we came up with the fucking surprise that Josh made it back there a few hours ago."

"What the fuck?"

"He was with us when we got hit. But when we had to detach all the parts of our shuttle he ended up in another capsule, the one that has the main gas tank of the whole shuttle. He sent himself back home and he's there, in one piece, they thought we have died."

"He just  _left_?" Zayn sounds angry, "Wasn't he the one saying we were a team, what the hell was he thinking leaving us here?"

"Look Zayn I really do understand how pissed off you are but that's the last thing that should bother us right now."

"How long?" Niall asks quietly, he wonders how Zayn can be so mad at the fact that Josh - a person who has never worked with them - left them here, when the space debris could be getting closer by the minute.

"What are you talking ab-"

"Oh Harry, c'mon, don't tell me you haven't figured it out," Louis says and when Harry doesn't reply, he goes on, "I said the station is unharmed, which leads us to the painful conclusion that the space debris has not come up here yet."

 _Yet,_ Harry doesn't like the sound of that.

"We have approximately ten minutes, maybe less, maybe more, before we get hit again and I really hope you three make it inside here before that happens." Liam says, anxiousness clear in his voice.

"Can't you move the station closer to us?"

"We're stuck, Harry. It's a  _station_ for a reason. It's meant to stay stationed and immobile all the time. Liam and I are about to remove the base that is keeping us still and meanwhile you all have to get here, do you copy?

"Yeah."

"Good. Enough talking, we'll see you guys here."

 

+

 

It's not Niall's lucky day.

His back is hurting too much and that makes moving even more difficult. Every time he tries to stretch so he can _move_  a shooting pain shakes his whole body, making his vision go white.

He's thankful he's in the middle of Harry and Zayn because  _they_ are the ones moving him. 

"Niall is everything alright?" Zayn asks and Niall wants to scream because of course is not, but he won't give up, not now. He was slow once and they got hit, he drifted away for what felt like ages. They won't put his friends on danger again. 

"Yeah, I'm trying."

"If it hurts don't over strain yourself, we can move you and when out extinguishers run out you will help us with yours."

"I feel useless." He says, biting his lips hard to force down a whimper.

"Stay calm, you're fine, we'll be there in no time."

 

 

"Guys, guys, where are you, do you copy?" Louis' frantic voice comes through their speakers.

"We see the station but we're still far from it."

"Look, don't panic, but we can see the debris coming, we're gonna get hit, there's no way out, just stay close, don't let go."

 

Niall wishes he was stronger to keep the thin piece of faith that he has left. But he's not. It's slipping through his fingertips along with every hope he was holding close in his heart.

The fleeting space debris is fast and dangerous and it gets faster and faster the closer they are to it.

They managed to make something like a small bundle of bodies, like a group hug, Zayn is holding his arms and Harry's arms are in his shoulders but he doesn't feel safe.

_He will never go home._

_  
_He tries to hold tight on Harry's broad chest, tries to tangle his legs in Zayn's because he's sure the blast of debris will take him like he's nothing. Like an insignificant piece of paper that the wind carries away wherever it wants.

He scrunches his eyes close and he stifles a sob when the impact starts.

 

There's something dragging him away from Zayn, something solid, it's not just fear or weakness. There's a piece of metal, some sort of broken satellite that got stuck on his string and Niall feels so angry because out of all the possibilities he got the worst hand of cards.

"Harry, Harry, fuck." His whole leg feels as if it's on fire. Electrifying pain is spreading through his leg and he curses his damn knee for the millionth time in his twenty four years of life.

There's debris from machines and tubes and trash coming at them but Niall doesn't see it, he just looks down and tries to set his leg free. He knows if he doesn't detach the string from his suit he will be sent flying into endless darkness. He  _has_ to hold tight.

"Don't let go, Niall, don't you dare let go," Harry cries but he sounds far and that's when he realises he's been dragged farther away from them. Zayn is holding onto a small telescope and Harry is grabbing his leg. Niall is just attached to Harry because of the string.

"I have to, if I don't detach my string I will drift away again-"

"If you detach the string you won't be attached to us anymore, Niall." Zayn screams.

"But I will drift away either way, if I stay attached I would drag you guys with me, you have to make it, you have to go  _home._ "

"And what about you? I'm not going anywhere without you, don't you get it?" Harry is  _sobbing_ , Niall's heart breaks.

"I'll be fine. You can always look up at the sky and I'll be there-"

"No! No you won't, I will look beside me and you will be there, with me. Don't let go!"

Niall feels white-hot-pain that was only in his leg spreading through his whole body, "I won't make it, I will put you guys on danger, that can't happen, I'm not letting it happen again."

The piece of metal is moving, trying to move along with the rest of the debris and it's flipping Niall down, twisting his leg in a painful way and he screams.

"Harry grab Zayn's string and detach yours." Louis commands through the radios, "throw your string to Niall and don't let him go, Niall, detach your string but you _have_  to catch Harry's, you hear me? Don't give up, detach yourself right now, Niall, now!"

"It h-hurts."

"I know, I know, Ni. Just hold on, please, hold on."

Niall is forced farther away and he feels the imminent ending coming. The pain in his whole body is choking him. His breath is coming in painful pants but he can't - doesn't _want_ to let go.

There's a faint spark of hope that's still flaring inside him and he finds the strength to detach his string.

 

+

 

It's silent again.

The same type of silence Niall heard when they first got hit but this time he has his eyes closed. He doesn't know, doesn't want to know what's going on.

He hears his name being called but it's faint. Too far away.

"Niall, Niall, Niall, for fuck's sake, Niall, do you fucking copy?"

It's Louis. But it's not only his voice there's a beep echoing right in his ears.

"Niall, you're still here, open your eyes, you have Harry's string really close to you, but you have to move towards it before you spin away, Niall please."

He opens his eyes and he actually sees Harry's string not more than a meter away from him. He lifts his arms and he hisses when he feels intense pain in his shoulders. "F-fuck."

He thinks he hears Louis laugh, "Yeah that's right Nialler, curse all that you want but stay with me."

He feels like his ribs are about to break, like his arms are being ripped away from his body but he focuses, he blocks the annoying beep and he block away the pain and the fear and he finally clutches the so wanted string.

"Yeah, you did it Niall, you're with us, we're close to you, don't let it go." Louis says and Niall lets out a weary and tired smile.

"What- what is that beep?" He asks.

"Don't think about it right now, just take deep breaths."

"Louis what is that beep?"

But Louis doesn't answer.

"Is the oxygen tank, isn't it? I'm running out of air, Louis just fucking answer!"

There's a long pause until he hears Louis heavy breathing trying to form words, "We're coming to get you Niall, we're close, so so, close don't think about anything else"

"Louis!" Niall cries out.

He just wants to know.

"You have 2% left of oxygen."

"I-"

"Just breathe!" Louis shouts.

 

Niall knows they are close. He knows that as soon as he gets inside the shuttle he will be safe again. But that doesn't stop his heart from beating so fast. His breathing is shortening and his lungs ache. He's wheezing and panting and that only means he's wasting his oxygen faster but he  _can't_  make himself calm down.

The dizziness hits him hard. It's slowly covering him whole, like a thick blanket that just makes it even harder to breathe. He's drowning, he feels in the verge of collapse.

"Niall please hang on." Harry stammers but Niall doesn't hear him.

 

He passes out.

 

+

 

There's a wide open field full of daisies and the sun is shining bright at him. He hears people laughing and if he's not wrong it sounds like Greg's laugh. His mom voice also reaches his ears and there's a small giggle that sounds close to him. He looks down to see little Theo smiling up at him, with chubby cheeks and grabby hands, telling him to pick him up.

"Uncle Niall! I missed you!" 

Niall doesn't know how he got here but he's not complaining.

"Niall, it's so good to know you're coming home," Maura's voice says but he doesn't see her anywhere.

"You keep fighting and keep yourself strong and you'll be back here in no time" his dad says. Maybe he's dreaming. Maybe this is how heaven actually is.

"Where am I?" he asks, and suddenly his little nephew is not in his arms anymore and the sun is no longer shining, the sky is grey and it's slowly becoming dark and empty. He's alone.

"Don't let go, Nialler." Greg says as the darkness takes over him.

 

+

 

He wakes up to a commotion.

There are papers floating everywhere and it's dark. It looks dirty and cramped.

He feels exhausted and his whole body aches but there's a soft, warm hand squeezing and stroking his arms gently. "Come on, come on, I know you're listening, wake up, Niall, open your eyes, please." It's Harry. And when he tries to grip and squeeze back, he notices he doesn't have his suit on anymore.

Where is he?

"Yes, Niall, you're alright, we're inside, you made it, we're going home."

He opens his eyes and he squeezes them shut again when his head spins. "Take it slow, you've been out of it for an hour" Liam's voice comes from somewhere above him and when his eyes open again he sees he's lying on Liam's lap. Harry is beside him with a wet cloth wiping his face but he doesn't have the energy to turn his head to check if Zayn and Louis are there too.

"W-what happened?" His voice is raspy and he craves a drink now more than ever.

"Here. Drink this, it's just water, we can't make tea in the outer space." Harry says softly. "Try slowly to sit up, okay? We found a small bottle of honey here, god knows why, but it will help your throat."

"Where are we?"

"The Chinese station." Liam answers, "we managed to catch you before you ran out of oxygen but when we got you inside you were already unconscious, Lou and Zayn went out to fix a part of the shuttle that broke after the impact and as soon as they're done we are going home."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, it took us a while to understand how to drive this thing because nothing is in english. But it's just like the shuttle where we arrived, so we know how to orbit this crap and take us back on earth."

"So, are we all alright?"

"You got it worst, definitely. But you'll be okay."

He lets himself hope.

 

+

 

"Tomlinson reporting from the Chinese space station, does anyone copy?" Louis has been trying for the past thirty minutes to communicate back to earth but with no success, "I'm here along with Payne, Styles, Malik and Horan, who's badly injured but awake. I can see the International Space Station but is absolutely shattered. We're going back to earth."

"We have to move back to the main capsule of the shuttle because is the only one that doesn't catch on fire when we start re-entering the atmosphere." Liam says.

"Do you think all five us will fit in there? It's a capsule for two." Niall says.

"We  _have_ to fit. I don't care how, but we have to. Let's go." Zayn insists.

They move slowly through every compartment of the shuttle until they find the small, cramped one where they have to squeeze in.

"Who will drive it?" Harry asks, "I'm sure as hell I forgot everything about these things a while ago."

"How are you even an astronaut, Harry?" Louis jokes. 

"I know how to drive it but I'm not sure if I can, you know, I don't function under pressure." Liam says looking down and Louis pats him on the back. Like he's saying  _don't worry, we're in this together. They are a team, but most of that, they're friends._

"Niall you know the most about these things, you're the expert, you think you can?"

"I- I know what to do but the only time I practiced was on the simulator and I crashed it twice."

"Zayn?"

"I will, but Niall will help me, I remember what to do but I'm sure Niall will remember the things I don't."

Niall doesn't even try to hide his smile.

"We all will help." Harry states, "even if it's at wiping off the sweat from your forehead, we're not alone, we will always have each other."

"You would never think a group of grown up astronauts would be so cheesy but here we are," Louis laughs while shaking his head, "but now that we're at it, I would like to say it's been a big adventure. And I got to live it with the best four mates I ever had, and I can assure you all, I will strangle Josh with my own hands when I see him."

"He was just smart" Niall says when the laughter fades away.

"But none of us would have done the same now, have we? Even if we found the chance to go, we would never leave the others behind."

"That's because we're friends. Josh wasn't, he was just like, a partner, if that."

"Why are we even talking about this?"

"Guys, I say planet earth is more than ready to have us back." Niall smiles, looking down at the magnificent round planet that is so close yet so far from them.

"Okay, so Harry you sit-"

"Next to Niall," Harry finishes, "I'm sorry but I can't just, you know."

"Yeah, yeah you're both oh so in love you can't stay away from him, okay, then. I'm going first, there are only two seats so I think Liam will be beside me, both of us in the same seat and you Harry will have Niall on your lap, in the middle. Zayn will have the other seat to himself because he's driving this crap."

"What about the seat belts?" Liam asks.

Louis takes two minutes to think after that, "Well, Liam I think you'd have to sit on my lap and Harry beside with Niall on his lap, if we stretch it to it's longest I think the seat belt will hold us four, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go."

 

+

 

It's too hot.

It's hot and it's too small and the capsule is moving irregularly as it detaches itself from the rest of the shuttle. Niall has his eyes closed tightly and his hand is intertwined tightly on Harry's.

They're breaking up on the upper edge of the atmosphere and the parts of the shuttle that are not needed are taking off and catching fire.

This is where they know. This is the moment when they can either catch fire and never make it home or land safety in some harmless place.

Niall opens his eyes to look at the rest of the boys, "Guys?"

"Yes, Nialler?"

"Thank you. For, you know, everything. For not letting me drift away up there, for not letting me go." he mumbles quietly but they all can hear him.

"We told you we would never let you go."

"And I always trusted you guys, so thank you."

"We love you, Ni, you kept us together, you didn't let us give up."

"I love you guys, too." he gushes, keeping his eyes closed but smiling at them. 

 

 

It's bumpy now. Things are falling down and the capsule is making all kind of noises but they know they are close. So, so,  _so,_ close to touch the ground again.

They can see clouds now. The daylight hurts their eyes and delightful sighs leave their mouths.

_They made it_

"Let's pray we land on water or something soft."

"Liam, is either water or ground, no other option."

"You have to take off your suits," Niall stammers, they're getting closecloseclose, he sees water everywhere. "We will fall on the water and you guys won't be able to swim if you don't take the suits off."

Nobody knows how thankful they are for Niall.

 

+

 

"International station reporting from Earth, do you copy?" 

"Fucking hell!" Liam yells and startles them all. "They're talking, they heard us! Yes we copy, we copy, oh God."

"We have your capsule back on the radar, we're sorry for the lack of communication during the last few days, every dispositive was down. We will send help as soon as you land. You're close to a lake, less than ten meters away from it, you'll have to get out quick, before you sink. Copy?"

"Loud and clear, Sir."

"It's a honour to have you all back on Earth, we will be waiting."

 

+

 

The screen in front of them goes red and an alarm goes off when the capsule touches the first waves of water.

"Fuck, fuck!"

"What is going on?"

"It's in electrical fire," Niall shouts, "we have to get out now, if we don't then the capsule will block everything and we will run out of oxygen and stay inside here like- forever."

"Open the gate, Zayn!"

"It's stuck! Come here and help me Louis, I can't do it by myself."

"I can-"

"Niall stay there, you're hurt!"

"We're gonna die if we don't-"

 

 

It happens too fast.

One minute Zayn, Liam and Louis are trying to open the door and the next the capsule is filling with water.

"Swim, Louis, we'll go right behind you!"

"We can't die because of fucking  _water_ after all we've been through," Louis says right before he takes a deep breath and goes underwater to find the exit of the shuttle and swim out of it.

"We won't die, can Louis stop talking about that." Liam shakes his head and follows Louis a minute after.

They can barely keep their heads above the water, now and Niall doesn't know how he will swim with the searing pain on his knee.

"Hold our hands." Zayn says, "We will get you out and you swim when we are out of the capsule, we don't have time, do it  _now._ "

 

They evacuate as fast as they can. Niall is slower than the other two, but he can see Liam and Louis already reached the surface, Zayn close behind, which means it's not too deep, it won't be hard to touch land again. Harry is waiting for him not too far from where he is.

He takes a second to look back. The capsule looks like it went through hell and back, just like how they probably look as well.

And this is how it ends. He doesn't know for sure how long were they tumbling through space but he thinks it must have been at least four days, he feels it in his bones. They ache but he's relieved because pain means he made out alive. At the end, he did achieve his dreams. They don't know how NASA will receive them when they see them, when help finally arrives, he doesn't know what to expect. A part of him tells him they're probably pissed they didn't manage to fix the telescope or that he put the whole crew in danger because he didn't stop working when it was called for.

But a bigger part of him tells him worrying is pointless. Why would he care about judgement or disapproving looks when all he wanted was go return safe.

He did it. They all did. The fact that they're still breathing - hearts still thumping with never ending energy - is more important than any other thing they could think of.

 

His first mouthful of air feels refreshing.

He enjoys it more than anything. It's like starting living again. There's no oxygen up there, breathing oxygen that comes from a tank is nothing compared to the natural air that it's finally filling his lungs again.

"Niall! Come over here, touching land again is fucking  _amazing._ " Zayn yells from where he's sitting on the sand.

He swims ashore and his legs don't work right away when his feet touch the ground.

They all laugh when he takes his first shaky steps, Harry keeping him steady when his knees buckle and he stumbles and splashes water everywhere. He has always heard about the effect a spaceflight can cause on the human body but he never thought it would be so real the fact that his legs literally feel like jelly. He has to drag himself with his arms until he's out of the water and then crawl into Harry's arms that are open wide and warm, only for him.

"We are here." Niall breathes out, "we fucking did it, we're  _home."_

They all get closer to where he is, face nuzzled on Harry's wet neck. He feels wet and shaky but warm arms snaking their way into his shoulders and waist. "This is the weirdest cuddle I've ever been part of," Louis puffs air right beside his earlobe and Niall laughs loud when it tickles.

"But it's the best kind of cuddle you will ever have."

"It is indeed."  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and it ends!!!!! if you read it all and you liked it/left kudos/bookmarked/commented I LOVE YOU thank you so much, it really means a lot to me, see you next time<3


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